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Victoria and Albert and the Waters of Mars
This is the post that was keeping me from posting to DW/LJ for the last month. I wrote it in London.
Hope it was worth it?
---
Doesn't the subject line sound like a great action book for kids? Anyway, today was the day where I finally watched "Waters of Mars"* and also the day where I went to the V&A.
I only had enough energy for one floor, but I kind of fell in love with the V&A because it's so great from a historiographical perspective. Every museum has an agenda; the V&A is awesome in that it continues to wear its own on its sleeve so long after the end of the British Empire. May it never change.
Example: the India section claims to have only one small wall on "India and Britain" but the entire section is largely composed of:
Anyway, the conclusion is that
The Doctor is clearly a symbolic representation of the British Empire. He goes around everywhere in the universe that he pleases, and everywhere he goes, he's better than the people who are already there, so he enlightens them, only periodically reminding them that they are actually dumb animals.
He saves them from themselves if and when he wants to, according to his own set of rules. "Isn't anyone going to say thank you?" he asks, and then unlocks their own door for them and sends them inside.
He may be dying, but that just makes him all the more determined to do whatever he wants. He has the right to, right? He's not just a survivor--he's a winner. And if and when he does turn out to be wrong, it's not really about the objects of his mistakes--it's about him, and his own destiny, which is really the only one that matters.
Brittania triumphant.
* I THINK THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I HAVE EVER WATCHED WHO LEGALLY. Three cheers for timing a trip to England with an episode release!
Hope it was worth it?
---
Doesn't the subject line sound like a great action book for kids? Anyway, today was the day where I finally watched "Waters of Mars"* and also the day where I went to the V&A.
I only had enough energy for one floor, but I kind of fell in love with the V&A because it's so great from a historiographical perspective. Every museum has an agenda; the V&A is awesome in that it continues to wear its own on its sleeve so long after the end of the British Empire. May it never change.
Example: the India section claims to have only one small wall on "India and Britain" but the entire section is largely composed of:
- European Dresses made out of Indian cotton, with a special focus on printed floral patterns. (By European, I mean, of course, English, with some influences from France and Holland.)
- Dishware and candelabras made in India with British supervision.
- Explanation of the local governments c. 1890, all of which were established by the English.
- My personal favorite bit. As I described it to
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
oliviacirce: "Here is that traditional trope of Indian art, the European being eaten by a tiger. It is a well-known allusion to the the Mahabharata."
Anyway, the conclusion is that
The Doctor is clearly a symbolic representation of the British Empire. He goes around everywhere in the universe that he pleases, and everywhere he goes, he's better than the people who are already there, so he enlightens them, only periodically reminding them that they are actually dumb animals.
He saves them from themselves if and when he wants to, according to his own set of rules. "Isn't anyone going to say thank you?" he asks, and then unlocks their own door for them and sends them inside.
He may be dying, but that just makes him all the more determined to do whatever he wants. He has the right to, right? He's not just a survivor--he's a winner. And if and when he does turn out to be wrong, it's not really about the objects of his mistakes--it's about him, and his own destiny, which is really the only one that matters.
Brittania triumphant.
* I THINK THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I HAVE EVER WATCHED WHO LEGALLY. Three cheers for timing a trip to England with an episode release!